In Syria’s Afrin, locals mobilise to defend hometown against Turkey

Ammunition belts slung over their shoulders, voices cracking from the chanting, dozens of young Syrian Kurds amassed in Afrin’s town square to enlist in the “resistance” movement against a Turkish-backed assault.

They wore mismatched military gear, some in jeans and others with scarves wrapped around their faces. A few admitted it was the first time they had ever touched a weapon, but said they felt compelled to defend their hometown.

“Afrin is where I grew up, just like my parents and my grandparents before me. This is why it’s a duty for me to fight for it,” says Asmaa, 19. The first-year journalism student at Afrin University decided last month to leave her studies behind and respond to a call to arms by local Kurdish authorities. Town officials called for a “mass mobilisation” of civilians to fight an assault by Turkish troops and allied rebels on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin.

They estimate hundreds have joined so far — some deployed to the front lines while others have volunteered for hospital shifts or rescue teams that search for survivors after bombardment.

Asmaa, a black-and-white scarf wrapped around her neck, says she enlisted to take part in the fighting. “Today, I don’t see myself as a student. I see myself as a fighter,” she says assertively. The crowd around her splits into two lines — one for young men and one for women — and begin marching through Afrin for an impromptu military parade. As shopkeepers look on, the youth wave YPG flags and chant, “No to occupation!” and “Long live the heroic resisters!”

“There has been an increasing number of volunteers, and each young man or woman can choose which institution they want to volunteer for depending on their experience and capacities,” says Rezan Haddu, a media adviser to YPG in Afrin.